I just finished reading an article on the Baptist Press that talks about a new book coming out regarding worship. You can read the article here, but allow me to quote the part that caught my eye and, quite frankly, sorta irked me:
"Combining a mix of Bible stories, personal testimonies and wisdom learned, Harland and Moser write about how believers can make worship come alive in their own lives and ultimately in their churches. Worship, they emphasize, is not just something to do in Sunday morning services. And it's not just something to read about in the Bible."
I have a novel idea...how about if we let Christians worship and stop encouraging non Believers to come to church? This way, the goats among us can stop working so hard at worshipping God and the rest of us can focus completely on Him! After all...come on, if you are one of those described by the authors, and you have trouble making "worship come alive in [your] own [life]," then maybe some serious self examination is in order!
But wait...it gets better! Note this next paragraph:
"Spending time in God's presence -- getting to know Him in the most intimate parts of our heart and soul -- gives us the foundation to really believe all He has planned for those of us who love Him and are called according to His purpose," they write. "There is no substitute for time spent in God’s presence."Unfortunately that time often gets whittled away in a busy life, Harland and Moser write, as Christians live in a world full of things that compete for their attention and their worship."
Nothing terribly wrong here right? I mean, it's totally true that nothing can take the place of spending time in the presence of God. Indeed, everyone should spend daily time in the Word of God, the means we have been given by which to enter into His presence! And it's true that Christians certainly face many distractions as we seek to worship God. Still...I cannot agree that anything is so distracting that it is any true competition in our lives against the worship of God! Are the authors seriously suggesting that these distractions can truly trip us up? Maybe the false convert, but the Christian? The one bought by the blood of Christ and redeemed by His sacrifice on the cross? This is one who can be distracted by the foolishness of the world? Have we truly arrived at a place in the life of the church where false believers are so common and in such powerful positions that we cater to their weaknesses? God forbid!
Next, however, the authors say this (be ready to have your mind blown away!):
"Jesus dealt with the same situation in Matthew 4:8-11, Harland and Moser point out."
Ummm...no He didn't. Let me pause to re-read that passage; in fact, read along with me:
Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.’” Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.
Did I miss something? Is it me, or does Jesus seem completely focused to you too? Distracted? Absolutely not! Where is the picture in this passage showing Jesus as being distracted? From what the authors say next they try to make a godly application but they've already messed the entire passage up by comparing Jesus in this passage to over stimulated Christians who have trouble opening up their Bibles! But let's be fair...maybe the context of the passage shows Jesus in this way, and they are therefore totally justified in presenting this picture. Let's see shall we?
These are the first seven verses of this passage:
Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’” Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: ‘ He shall give His angels charge over you,’ and, ‘ In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’” Jesus said to him, “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the LORD your God.’”
Did you catch it? Neither did I. It seems to me Jesus is led by the Spirit here, fasts for forty days and forty nights in order to have full communion with the Father, and when approached by a haughty Satan, immediately dismisses him by quoting Scripture. If you ask me, that seems like a pretty focused Jesus wouldn't you say?
Such a stunning display of expository genius, however, does not get past the people at Lifeway, and so anyone wanting to read the book can also purchase an 8 week study and music CD as a companion! What a deal! I don't know about you, but I sure do wish those who say we need to be in the Word more would actually encourage their churches to open up their Bibles and study the Word!
But hey, I'm old fashioned that way.
Monday, December 29, 2008
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Profaning That Which is Holy
This Christmas I received a book from my sister in law called “The Expository Genius of
John Calvin” by Steven J. Lawson. I have been wanting this book forever so am very happy with it, and I definitely plan on reviewing this book. First off, however, I want to share a couple of thoughts I had as I read the first chapter.
In this chapter, Lawson describes an incident that occurred after Calvin had excommunicated a particularly nasty group of “believers.” He excommunicated them in the sense of denying them the sacrament of communion. Well these people, who practiced sexual immorality as a matter of course, were upset and petitioned the civil authorities of Geneva. Here is how Lawson describes it:
“…Through the underhanded influence of the Libertines, the City Council overrode the church’s decision, and Berthelier [leader of the false believers] and his associates came to church to take the Lord’s Supper with swords drawn, ready to fight.”
Let me take a moment to comment on this little passage. First of all, notice the importance placed upon the Lord’s Supper at this time! False though they were in their professed faith, these people realized that it was a privilege to partake of the Supper…that it was set aside for those who are true Believers…it is not something to be cast before the swine. To make a quick analogy to our own time, can you see why those who are pushing for same-sex marriage are so adamant? Why they are appealing to the judicial system to override the people, and why they are using this sword to come before the church and demand the “right” to marry? Yes, they realize that marriage is a sacred thing, don’t be fooled into thinking otherwise. And like the sexual libertines of Calvin’s day, these modern libertines want to transform something sacred into something common. They want to make of marriage something it is not and never has been, and they want to do it on their own terms rather than accepting the consequences of following their chosen lifestyles.
We see in this narrative also the danger of permitting the state to rule the church. No matter how much the revisionists cry out, our Constitution forbids Congress from interfering in the worship of citizens…NOT citizens of faith from exercising their political rights. Regardless of how often the propaganda machine of the liberal Left lies about it, our nation was indeed founded upon Christian principles. We certainly should permit everybody to worship as they please. But let us not fear expressing our national heritage by wishing someone a “Merry Christmas” or by having monuments to the Ten Commandments. Indeed, the idea that we should neglect the Christian religion for fear of offending Muslims, Jews, or anyone else is as absurd as an American Christian moving to a Muslim nation and demanding that it put away its Muslim heritage because it offends him or her. In fact, those who doubt the tolerance of Christianity should move to an Islamic nation and start making such demands. They’ll soon find out how peaceful and loving Islam can be!
But okay, back to the passage from the book. Here come these men, willing to use violence in order to receive the sacrament of the Supper! How did Calvin react?
“…With bold audacity, Calvin descended from the pulpit, stood in front of the Communion table, and said, “These hands you may crush, these arms you may lop off, my life you may take, my blood is yours, you may shed it; but you shall never force me to give holy things to the profaned and dishonor the table of my God.” Berthelier and the Libertines withdrew, no match for such unflinching convictions.” [emphasis mine]
We all know, of course, that it could easily have ended with Calvin’s death. God had sovereignly decided to spare Calvin, but he himself would have had no idea of this! Calvin would not be forced to give communion to those who practiced wife-swapping as a form of worship, and he was not afraid to die for His God. What was he afraid of? Of defiling that which was holy.
Brothers and sisters…what about us?
How do we approach the holy things of God?
I give thanks to God for His mercy, because I know that I am like Berthelier too many times…coming to the table in sin and not repenting of it first! Not only do I not know if I would defend the table with my life…I myself defile it!
Let us make a pact, dear brethren, to fully examine ourselves every day. Let us look at ourselves and see whether at that moment we are walking in obedience to our Lord and Savior. If we are not, and yet we partake of the Lord’s Supper, then how can we claim to honor the holy things of God? Do we not align ourselves right next to those who are profane? May God forbid it.
“Therefore, whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.” (emphasis mine)
-1 Corinthians 11:27-29
John Calvin” by Steven J. Lawson. I have been wanting this book forever so am very happy with it, and I definitely plan on reviewing this book. First off, however, I want to share a couple of thoughts I had as I read the first chapter.
In this chapter, Lawson describes an incident that occurred after Calvin had excommunicated a particularly nasty group of “believers.” He excommunicated them in the sense of denying them the sacrament of communion. Well these people, who practiced sexual immorality as a matter of course, were upset and petitioned the civil authorities of Geneva. Here is how Lawson describes it:
“…Through the underhanded influence of the Libertines, the City Council overrode the church’s decision, and Berthelier [leader of the false believers] and his associates came to church to take the Lord’s Supper with swords drawn, ready to fight.”
Let me take a moment to comment on this little passage. First of all, notice the importance placed upon the Lord’s Supper at this time! False though they were in their professed faith, these people realized that it was a privilege to partake of the Supper…that it was set aside for those who are true Believers…it is not something to be cast before the swine. To make a quick analogy to our own time, can you see why those who are pushing for same-sex marriage are so adamant? Why they are appealing to the judicial system to override the people, and why they are using this sword to come before the church and demand the “right” to marry? Yes, they realize that marriage is a sacred thing, don’t be fooled into thinking otherwise. And like the sexual libertines of Calvin’s day, these modern libertines want to transform something sacred into something common. They want to make of marriage something it is not and never has been, and they want to do it on their own terms rather than accepting the consequences of following their chosen lifestyles.
We see in this narrative also the danger of permitting the state to rule the church. No matter how much the revisionists cry out, our Constitution forbids Congress from interfering in the worship of citizens…NOT citizens of faith from exercising their political rights. Regardless of how often the propaganda machine of the liberal Left lies about it, our nation was indeed founded upon Christian principles. We certainly should permit everybody to worship as they please. But let us not fear expressing our national heritage by wishing someone a “Merry Christmas” or by having monuments to the Ten Commandments. Indeed, the idea that we should neglect the Christian religion for fear of offending Muslims, Jews, or anyone else is as absurd as an American Christian moving to a Muslim nation and demanding that it put away its Muslim heritage because it offends him or her. In fact, those who doubt the tolerance of Christianity should move to an Islamic nation and start making such demands. They’ll soon find out how peaceful and loving Islam can be!
But okay, back to the passage from the book. Here come these men, willing to use violence in order to receive the sacrament of the Supper! How did Calvin react?
“…With bold audacity, Calvin descended from the pulpit, stood in front of the Communion table, and said, “These hands you may crush, these arms you may lop off, my life you may take, my blood is yours, you may shed it; but you shall never force me to give holy things to the profaned and dishonor the table of my God.” Berthelier and the Libertines withdrew, no match for such unflinching convictions.” [emphasis mine]
We all know, of course, that it could easily have ended with Calvin’s death. God had sovereignly decided to spare Calvin, but he himself would have had no idea of this! Calvin would not be forced to give communion to those who practiced wife-swapping as a form of worship, and he was not afraid to die for His God. What was he afraid of? Of defiling that which was holy.
Brothers and sisters…what about us?
How do we approach the holy things of God?
I give thanks to God for His mercy, because I know that I am like Berthelier too many times…coming to the table in sin and not repenting of it first! Not only do I not know if I would defend the table with my life…I myself defile it!
Let us make a pact, dear brethren, to fully examine ourselves every day. Let us look at ourselves and see whether at that moment we are walking in obedience to our Lord and Savior. If we are not, and yet we partake of the Lord’s Supper, then how can we claim to honor the holy things of God? Do we not align ourselves right next to those who are profane? May God forbid it.
“Therefore, whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.” (emphasis mine)
-1 Corinthians 11:27-29
Thursday, December 18, 2008
"A Primer On Worship and Reformation: Recovering the HIgh Church Puritan" by Douglas Wilson
isbn #978-1-59128-061-3
It has been awhile since I received this advanced copy from LibraryThing and I thought I'd better get on the ball and post the review I promised to do! I have now read the book two times (it's a small book) and I must say I am not exactly sure how to review it, but here goes:
This will be a small review consisting of the following:
1) What I appreciate about Doug Wilson's book
2) What I disagreed with Doug Wilson about
3) Why I recommend it...sort of!
1) What I appreciate about Doug Wilson's book
Many years ago when I was a student at the University of Idaho, I attended a conference called "The Wars of America from a Christian Perspective." That was not the exact name, but it was pretty close to it. At any rate, it was then that I first came to know Doug Wilson and since then I have had the opportunity to read much of what he writes in his magazine "Credenda/Agenda." When I say I came to know Doug Wilson, by the way, I don't mean that I know him personally but that I have heard him speak and have read his writings before!
Anyhow, I like much of what Wilson says and writes, and this book was really no different. His humorous and quite apt discussion (critique) of "christian" marketing and its consumers was right on target, and I especially liked what he wrote on pages 11-12 of the book, where he discusses the Veggie Tales phenomenon. He says:
"And then there are the Veggie Tales. What is the issue here? That would become abundantly clear if someone seriously suggested a Veggie Tales version of Beowulf, or Lord of the Rings, or Prince Caspian. Modern evangelicals are reverent of everything except their religion. Just try to picture Aragon as a cucumber. What does that do to the ethos of the thing? Or imagine Aslan as a beet. "We couldn't do that! It would wreck the story! I see. Apparently, as far as modern evangelicals are concerned, the Bible doesn't have a story to wreck. If misguided evangelicals were to try to bridge current tensions by making a Veggie Tales version of the Koran, they would all now be in hiding because of the fatwa declared against them. In short, the Muslims would respond with outrage over what had been perpetrated on their holy book. But we are not outraged for two reasons- first, we are clueless, and second, we did it to ourselves."
Ouch. That is so very true, and I appreciate Wilson's courage in saying so.
I also appreciate his calling the Church to a reformation, if you will, in how we worship the Lord. I found his book much more helpful in this area than I did Michael Horton's "A Better Way."
2) What I disagreed with Doug Wilson about
Okay, this is not going to be some big interaction with passages from Wilson's book in which I attempt to refute any specific stance. On the contrary, it boils down to this...Doug Wilson is Reformed in the full sense of the word while I am a self described Reformed Baptist. What this means is that I don't see eye to eye with Wilson in regards to a convenantal (sp?) view of Isreal and the church, therefore I cannot embrace much of what he says. This does NOT mean, however, that what he has to say is not valuable. And anyone who is Reformed and/or leans towards a Reformed and Covenantal (sp?) view of Scripture will be more than pleased with this book. As it is, I am pleased with most of what Wilson has to say, and so...
3) Why I recommend it...sort of!
I do not hesitate to recomment this book to any and all readers, then leave it up to that reader to decide how much of it they will take in. To be quite frank, you do not at all need to be Reformed to enjoy the book, nor is it imperative that you be Reformed to appreciate and value what Doug Wilson has accomplished. I can certainly say that I am pleased to have this little book in my collection and can see how I will refer to it often when I am preparing studies!
It has been awhile since I received this advanced copy from LibraryThing and I thought I'd better get on the ball and post the review I promised to do! I have now read the book two times (it's a small book) and I must say I am not exactly sure how to review it, but here goes:
This will be a small review consisting of the following:
1) What I appreciate about Doug Wilson's book
2) What I disagreed with Doug Wilson about
3) Why I recommend it...sort of!
1) What I appreciate about Doug Wilson's book
Many years ago when I was a student at the University of Idaho, I attended a conference called "The Wars of America from a Christian Perspective." That was not the exact name, but it was pretty close to it. At any rate, it was then that I first came to know Doug Wilson and since then I have had the opportunity to read much of what he writes in his magazine "Credenda/Agenda." When I say I came to know Doug Wilson, by the way, I don't mean that I know him personally but that I have heard him speak and have read his writings before!
Anyhow, I like much of what Wilson says and writes, and this book was really no different. His humorous and quite apt discussion (critique) of "christian" marketing and its consumers was right on target, and I especially liked what he wrote on pages 11-12 of the book, where he discusses the Veggie Tales phenomenon. He says:
"And then there are the Veggie Tales. What is the issue here? That would become abundantly clear if someone seriously suggested a Veggie Tales version of Beowulf, or Lord of the Rings, or Prince Caspian. Modern evangelicals are reverent of everything except their religion. Just try to picture Aragon as a cucumber. What does that do to the ethos of the thing? Or imagine Aslan as a beet. "We couldn't do that! It would wreck the story! I see. Apparently, as far as modern evangelicals are concerned, the Bible doesn't have a story to wreck. If misguided evangelicals were to try to bridge current tensions by making a Veggie Tales version of the Koran, they would all now be in hiding because of the fatwa declared against them. In short, the Muslims would respond with outrage over what had been perpetrated on their holy book. But we are not outraged for two reasons- first, we are clueless, and second, we did it to ourselves."
Ouch. That is so very true, and I appreciate Wilson's courage in saying so.
I also appreciate his calling the Church to a reformation, if you will, in how we worship the Lord. I found his book much more helpful in this area than I did Michael Horton's "A Better Way."
2) What I disagreed with Doug Wilson about
Okay, this is not going to be some big interaction with passages from Wilson's book in which I attempt to refute any specific stance. On the contrary, it boils down to this...Doug Wilson is Reformed in the full sense of the word while I am a self described Reformed Baptist. What this means is that I don't see eye to eye with Wilson in regards to a convenantal (sp?) view of Isreal and the church, therefore I cannot embrace much of what he says. This does NOT mean, however, that what he has to say is not valuable. And anyone who is Reformed and/or leans towards a Reformed and Covenantal (sp?) view of Scripture will be more than pleased with this book. As it is, I am pleased with most of what Wilson has to say, and so...
3) Why I recommend it...sort of!
I do not hesitate to recomment this book to any and all readers, then leave it up to that reader to decide how much of it they will take in. To be quite frank, you do not at all need to be Reformed to enjoy the book, nor is it imperative that you be Reformed to appreciate and value what Doug Wilson has accomplished. I can certainly say that I am pleased to have this little book in my collection and can see how I will refer to it often when I am preparing studies!
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
How Do You End an Argument? Call Your Opponent a Legalist!
Many years ago when I taught adult Sunday school at a church in North Idaho I tried to include Scripture memorization as part of our class structure. Mind you, the class was made up mostly of married couples, ranging in ages from the mid twenties to late thirties, and there were about 6 couples plus a few single people. At any rate, I soon found myself facing a minor rebellion when some people took offense at my obvious attempt to impose my legalism upon them. Some people stopped coming to class and others refused to participate, which was fine since it was always proposed as a voluntary thing in the first place! Another little bit of background information is that our class was about one hour and fifteen minutes, so there was plenty of time to review a few verses together AND open up our Bibles to study from the text (we were studying Genesis at the time). And finally, one significant if baffling factoid is that many of the people in the class were involved with the AWANA program, where...ummm...kids are expected to memorize Scripture! And, oh yeah, one member was also the director of the Baptist Student Ministry on the college campus! Go figure.
Well after a number of weeks of this, I set aside the regular lesson to address the concerns of the people in the class. I took as my text for that morning John 14:15, in which Jesus declares that if we love Him we will keep His commandments. I won't repeat the entire lesson here but I tied it into the need to memorize Scripture as a means of remaining obedient. For example, as we face particular temptations, having memorized Scripture which addresses that sin issue will help us to avoid committing it. Well the class never jumped onboard with my idea, and we did indeed lose members to other classes...but that was fine. Others joined, and while my class never grew to its former size, it was made up mostly of people who were of one mind. As a side note, however, I will point out the focus of SBC churches by mentioning that within weeks I'd been moved to a tiny cramped room in the back of the church...my former room being taken over by a class that was much smaller than mine! :)
Well...this entire point serves as a mere introduction to a fantastic post by those pesky Pyromaniacs, who have once again written such an excellent post that they leave me no choice but to link to them and encourage my few readers to head on over there and check it out!
So please do so by following this link! And if you get a chance, I'd love to hear your thoughts on it.
Well after a number of weeks of this, I set aside the regular lesson to address the concerns of the people in the class. I took as my text for that morning John 14:15, in which Jesus declares that if we love Him we will keep His commandments. I won't repeat the entire lesson here but I tied it into the need to memorize Scripture as a means of remaining obedient. For example, as we face particular temptations, having memorized Scripture which addresses that sin issue will help us to avoid committing it. Well the class never jumped onboard with my idea, and we did indeed lose members to other classes...but that was fine. Others joined, and while my class never grew to its former size, it was made up mostly of people who were of one mind. As a side note, however, I will point out the focus of SBC churches by mentioning that within weeks I'd been moved to a tiny cramped room in the back of the church...my former room being taken over by a class that was much smaller than mine! :)
Well...this entire point serves as a mere introduction to a fantastic post by those pesky Pyromaniacs, who have once again written such an excellent post that they leave me no choice but to link to them and encourage my few readers to head on over there and check it out!
So please do so by following this link! And if you get a chance, I'd love to hear your thoughts on it.
Monday, December 8, 2008
Who is Truly Intolerant?
...then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.."
- Revelation 20:4
I just watched a video posted on a martyr's website that literally brought me to tears. I won't post a link because the scenes were terrible and my sons and some of their friends read this blog.
What prompted me to write this post was that the scenes of martyrdom shown on the video were largely of Christians enduring persecution in the Muslim world. It made me so upset to think that today in our secular America we are equated with Muslim extremism simply for truly believing in the Word of God. Yet not a word of condemnation from the secularists of our world against the treatment of Believers in the nations governed by Islam. No, instead we are attacked as fundamentalists...as if our fundamentalism was no different than that of those who strap explosives to themselves and kill in the name of their god.
I suppose, to be fair, that our fundamentalism is really scary though...for the fundamentals of our faith tell us to love and honor our God...to do good works in His Name. To love our neighbors and turn the other cheek when persecuted. Scary isn't it? We might actually convince people that they should give from what they have been blessed with. I guess that's just as scary as the peace loving people of Islam killing those among themselves who convert to any faith and away from Islam. I suppose that Christians peacefully protesting abortion is just as scary to the secularists as a Muslim beheading Christian converts and beating Christian missionaries.
Commit this day, those of you who are numbered among the Believers, to pray for our brethren around the globe who are encountering persecution. Lift up an amen for those who convert to the faith, who truly count the cost (as my family learned in Church yesterday...where our missionaries celebrated the new birth of a former Muslim and now sister in the Lord). Don't forget to thank God that He has so far protected us from similar persecution...or actually maybe we should be ashamed that we are not counted as worthy enough to endure it.
- Revelation 20:4
I just watched a video posted on a martyr's website that literally brought me to tears. I won't post a link because the scenes were terrible and my sons and some of their friends read this blog.
What prompted me to write this post was that the scenes of martyrdom shown on the video were largely of Christians enduring persecution in the Muslim world. It made me so upset to think that today in our secular America we are equated with Muslim extremism simply for truly believing in the Word of God. Yet not a word of condemnation from the secularists of our world against the treatment of Believers in the nations governed by Islam. No, instead we are attacked as fundamentalists...as if our fundamentalism was no different than that of those who strap explosives to themselves and kill in the name of their god.
I suppose, to be fair, that our fundamentalism is really scary though...for the fundamentals of our faith tell us to love and honor our God...to do good works in His Name. To love our neighbors and turn the other cheek when persecuted. Scary isn't it? We might actually convince people that they should give from what they have been blessed with. I guess that's just as scary as the peace loving people of Islam killing those among themselves who convert to any faith and away from Islam. I suppose that Christians peacefully protesting abortion is just as scary to the secularists as a Muslim beheading Christian converts and beating Christian missionaries.
Commit this day, those of you who are numbered among the Believers, to pray for our brethren around the globe who are encountering persecution. Lift up an amen for those who convert to the faith, who truly count the cost (as my family learned in Church yesterday...where our missionaries celebrated the new birth of a former Muslim and now sister in the Lord). Don't forget to thank God that He has so far protected us from similar persecution...or actually maybe we should be ashamed that we are not counted as worthy enough to endure it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
